HEIC vs PNG vs WebP
Each of these formats is good at one job. HEIC stores camera photos compactly. PNG keeps every pixel, which matters for screenshots and images you will edit again. WebP is built for web pages and is smaller than JPEG at similar quality. None of them replaces JPEG as the format that opens everywhere.
See what the quality setting does
Drag the line to compare the original with the JPEG at the quality you chose. The loupe shows a 3× crop under your pointer.
What each one is for
| Format | Lossy or lossless | Best at | Weak at |
|---|---|---|---|
| HEIC | Lossy (HEVC) | Camera photos on Apple devices; small files with rich metadata | Opening anywhere else |
| PNG | Lossless | Screenshots, diagrams, text, images you will edit again, transparency | File size for photos (large) |
| WebP | Both | Images on web pages; smaller than JPEG at similar quality; transparency and animation | Some desktop software and older tools |
| JPEG | Lossy | Sending and uploading photos anywhere | Transparency; repeated re-saving |
Converting a HEIC: JPEG or PNG?
Pick JPEG for photos you will send, upload or post. Pick PNG when the image is a screenshot, contains text, or will be edited further and you don’t want another lossy step. This site offers both.
Why not WebP?
WebP is a good web format, but the places where HEIC causes trouble, email, upload forms, Windows PCs, are the same places where WebP can also be refused. Converting one awkward format into a slightly less awkward one rarely solves the problem. JPEG does.
The exception: transparency
Neither JPEG nor a normal camera HEIC has transparency. If you have a HEIC that genuinely contains an alpha channel, PNG keeps it.
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